DR. THOMAS (TOM) H. LOFTIN
Dr. Thomas (Tom) H. Loftin died March 11, 2021, after a long battle with ALS.
He was born on September 28, 1932. He started work in the fall of 1953
teaching chemistry at Myric High School in Jones County. In July 1954 he started working
with the Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service as an assistant county agent and later
associate county agent in Poplarville, MS. In June 1965 the family moved to
Starkville, MS where Tom began working with the Mississippi Cooperative Extension’s
Community Rural Development department at Mississippi State University. He retired as
the state leader for the Department of Community Development in 1986. After retirement, he was a private consultant for ten years, served as secretary of the state Agriculture Economics Association, state vice-president then later state president of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. He served as director of District 5 of the Mississippi Retired Public Employees’ and is a life member of the board.
DR. ALTON COBB
Dr. Alton Cobb died peacefully at home surrounded by family on October 14, 2021. Dr. Cobb was born on October 19, 1928. He had a career Public Health that spanned 35 years. He first served as a county health director for Sunflower County, and then
as the director of Chronic Disease Services for the MS Department of Health. Dr. Cobb
was an active voice in conversations with Governor John Bell Williams about whether
to bring Medicaid to MS. When that came to pass, Dr. Cobb became the first executive
director of the MS Medicaid Commission. In 1973 he was appointed State Health Officer
for the MS Department of Health, a position he held until 1992.
Once asked by [his wife] Mary what he would wish if granted one last wish,
Dr. Cobb quipped “More affordable and accessible health care for all the people of
Mississippi.” He was practical and principled and uninterested in material possessions and
he spent his life working towards that end.